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KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 4, 2017

Bill Snyder

Lubbock, Texas

Kansas State - 42, Texas State - 35

Q. One of the most exciting games you've been involved in?
COACH SNYDER: Well, it was stressful. Say that. But I think, I don't know, we played the overtime game and then we played the close one with Oklahoma. Two overtimes in one season, have the same kind of emotional impact I guess.

Q. How good was Skylar Thompson in the fourth quarter?
COACH SNYDER: Skylar plays unlike a freshman. I mean, he plays with poise and I appreciate that a great deal. Makes some good choices. Misses an item or two but overall has played very well. Made some nice throws quite obviously. You know, they were kind of throws that you couldn't be off six inches and the success. Played very well.

Q. What has this team just showed you just now?
COACH SNYDER: Well, I think that was -- to see the offense, and it goes beyond the overtime period. You know, to see the offense be down by ten points, come back, get the field goal and then comeback and get the touchdown and the two-point conversion, you know, I thought there was a lot of want-to, a lot of passion involved in that. A lot of confidence involved in it, as well.

For the defense to go on the field, it was like I was just telling our players. You don't give the ball to Texas Tech on -- they have got it with 25 yards to go for a touchdown and expect to hold them out of the end zone. So that was a great effort on our defensive part, defensive players and coaches both. And obviously the special teams. Just once again, does a great job of getting great field position for our offense.

Q. Can you take us through the cat-and-mouse, the chess match of deciding which two-point play to go with?
COACH SNYDER: You know, because you only get one shot at it. Two and a half yards doesn't count. So you've got to -- it's got to be absolutely the right play or you've got a problem. We hit two different calls made. The one we finally settled on, they actually did a pretty nice job. They for the most part had it covered, and we had to go to the third choice for the throw and obviously he made a nice throw and good catch, too.

Q. Dalton, he was huge for you today.
COACH SNYDER: Well, you know, you think back in games that we have played, and you know, we always talk about big plays. There were several guys that came up with some reasonably big plays today. But you know, the big one there at the end to take us down for the last touchdown before the overtime, that's reminiscent of two or three other times during the course of the season where he had done exactly the same thing. Made substantial plays. And he did it by doing what he's supposed to do.

Obviously the throw was awfully good, and then once again, it wasn't as throw he caught the ball and somebody tackled him 20 yards down the field. He out-ran some speed before they finally got to him. Maybe he's faster than I give him credit for.

Q. How badly needed was this for the team after everything they have been through this year?
COACH SNYDER: I think for them individually, as an individual, and then collectively as a team, I think it's highly valuable. It's just the idea that if you make the right type of investment, you can become successful. If you go put your money in certain funds, the tank, obviously you make a bad decision and put them in the right place, then obviously it pays off in your bank account.

The same thing is true here. You know, it's what you invest in. And if you invest your time and your effort and your spirit into the right intrinsic values, then good things come of that, and that's why this ballgame, I think provided a more now-I-get-it-type of environment for our players; now if I do this, this is what will happen.

Q. Everybody is going to focus on the end of the game, two straight weeks --
COACH SNYDER: We did, it's a balance, being able to finish off drives, sometimes didn't always do that -- mad on the field. But I will say this: I give Texas Tech due credit. They did a nice job keeping us guessing in regards to our running back, and just their slants and just exactly what determined where those slants were going to be. It was a little difficult for us to figure out.

We had our successes. They had their's. It was kind of a trade off in the running game. I thought in the passing game, for the most part with the exception of allowing -- we allowed some pressure -- we batted down some balls that translated into first downs that we had to go back and punt would have kept drives alive very much. We have a system about how to defeat that, how to not let that happen.

So we certainly made some mistakes, as well. But didn't totally finish each of the drives that we wanted to. But nobody's perfect. We certainly weren't but I thought they certainly held their own during the first half.

Q. Was Alex hurt on that foul targeting, and if so, how did he complete the rest of that drive?
COACH SNYDER: I mean, how did he -- physically? Well, because at the time he was -- and Alex is one of those guys, a very competitive young guy. He was all right.

You know, when you're testing for concussions or potential harm, damage, it's not about whether you feel right or not. It's about all the tests that we have that you go through. I'm not a doctor, so I certainly can't make any speculation on that.

We have great doctors, absolutely great. We're going to abide by anything that they tell us. They thought he was okay then, and you know, later on, then he started to get some dizziness or just some uncertainty and consequently we held him out because of that.

Q. How proud are you of the defense to shut Texas Tech out for --
COACH SNYDER: Well, what I was most proud of was -- I said this a minute ago. What I was most proud of defensively is when we went into the overtime period. Actually, two particular times. We scored and I think that's the one you're allowing to, and then we held them. We had some good fortune. We had a couple dropped passes during that period of time, but we did get the ball back and allow the offense to drive the distance.

I was really proud, as I said, going in, put Texas Tech on the 25-yard line with first down, you know, most people are going to have a lot of trouble nine out of ten times.

Q. Started kind of slow in the third quarter. Was it a matter of him getting comfortable and feel in the flow of the game to get going?
COACH SNYDER: You know, what happens is you get -- two things have taken place. One is their offense is moving the ball. We got some holes but we didn't get a lot of three-and-outs. So they are moving the ball and that takes time.

They had moved their offense, wisely so. I think the Kliff does an amazing job and I think he really has done quite well in trying to balance their offense. I think I said this in one of the press conferences before; trying to balance their offense so they are not all pass like they have been in the past. Now they are going to try to balance it up with the run and the pass.

We're both teams that eat up the clock and consequently, we go three-and-out, and then they eat up a lot of time. They have the ball first, they eat up a lot of clock and then we're three-and-out and then they eat up a lot of clock. So we only have the ball for three snaps and we're almost through the entire third quarter.

If you get the three-and-outs with your offense, those things happen. Then you've got all the things that you want to have happen offensively, don't, particularly against a team like this that now can possess the ball over an extended period of time. I think that's the way it played out.

Q. The third overtime game -- are there positives in taking the football first like today?
COACH SNYDER: Well, we didn't take the ball first.

Q. But having the football first?
COACH SNYDER: Having the football first, yeah, if you score. But the problem even with that is, if you have to kick a field goal, they know what they have to have. Whatever you do, if you have it first, they at least know what they have to have. If you've got the football first, you don't know what you have to have, so you're trying to get the touchdown as best you can.

Now, that's seven points. But then the question becomes: Since we had it first, then they can score and go for two points. Do we do for a two-point conversion or a one-point conversion. Those are questions that are very hard to answer when there really isn't an answer. There's not an advantage of being able to take the ball first, I don't think.

Q. How much do you think last week, what Skylar did, benefitted him today?
COACH SNYDER: Well, I'd lick to think it does. I think all the experience that you gain on the field in front of a crowd, etc., is beneficial to you. But you go back to last to week, and he played every bit as well, if maybe not a little bit better perhaps. But played basically the same I guess in both, and that was without any experience whatsoever.

So did it benefit him? I'd like to think it does. But in reality, he's still the same guy.

Q. Been awhile since you've had a come-from-behind victory like that. Personally what are your emotions?
COACH SNYDER: Well, you know, everybody's getting into my emotions. I'm not a big, emotional guy. We're just about trying to get things the right way and do it the right way, etc.

I'm sure with our players, the important thing is our youngsters proved that they could do that. And it wasn't just offense scoring a touchdown. It wasn't just the defense holding them on the last couple drives. It was a collective effort.

We got big runs out of our special teams again that gave us great scoring position. I mean, all -- it was a team victory and that was an important thing. And when everybody is playing well together, doing what they are supposed to be doing, together, all three phases, then comebacks should happen. You should be able to come back from a ballgame late.

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